Maltodextrin-trehalose miscible system-based bacteriophage encapsulation: Studies of plasticizing effect on encapsulated phage activity and food application as an antimicrobial agent

초록

Although bacteriophage (phage) has great potential use as an antimicrobial material, its application is limited due to its high susceptibility to physical stress in a liquid state. In this study, phage T4 was spray-dried into fine dry powders to improve its usability as an antimicrobial agent. In specific, phage T4 was co-encapsulated with maltodextrin and trehalose, and the effects of the two miscible systems on phage lytic activity were investigated to identify the optimal formulation. The changes in physicochemical properties of the microcapsules were evaluated relative to differences in phage lytic activity after spray-drying. The formulation of 11% (w/w) maltodextrin and 4% (w/w) trehalose miscible system (MD11/TR4) was the best, with high phage lytic activity and strong antimicrobial activity. Because the two materials are hygroscopic, both water sorption isotherms with a Guggenheim-Anderson-de Boer model fitting and changes in thermal and structural properties were investi-gated. When the MD11/TR4 microcapsules were stored at various relative humidity conditions, the water -plasticizing effect affected the lytic activity of encapsulated phages. The MD11/TR4 formulation efficiently maintained the phage lytic activity at 22.6% RH, even when stored at 25 degrees C. The phage microcapsules were applied to control bacterial growth in foods, suggesting the utilization as alternative antimicrobial agents.

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